Yet another Burn Meter question : )

I've been trying to read how this works, because I don't really understand it.

So...is the essential point of the Burn Meter just to make sure that I intake less calories than is posted on the burn estimate? (I see oodles of calories on there, even after I've posted a long workout AND eaten within what my caloric intake for the day is, and it's discouraging to see, if it really means how much I'm supposed to still burn.)

Should I just stick to my calorie count and working out or am I doing something wrong?

Thanks for explaining this.

The burn meter shows you the calories you HAVE burned not the calories you need to burn.  Above your burn meter you'll see "Total Estimate" that is the number you need to work from, keep your calories at 500-1000 below that number and you'll lose weight.  The burn meter number just shows you how many calories you've burned so far that day.

Said another way, you burn so many calories simply being alive. I think mine is like 2000 a day. So no matter what exercise I do my burn meter with say 2000 because I will burn that much in a day. The number on the bar increases as the day goes on because at midnight I just start burning calories for the day and I will finish by the next morning.

Any work out you do with increase the amount of calories I've burned that day. So if I jog for an hour, my burn meter might change from 2000 a day to 2200 a day. The larger that number, the more calories I've burned. As long as you eat less than your burn meter for the day, then you have a deficit. If my burn meter is 2000 for the day, then I should try to eat around 1600 for the day leaving me with a 400 calorie deficient between what I ate and what I burned.

Good luck!

Ahh, I kinda see - so, as long as I keep myself below that top number, I should be fine with the losing weight thing.

Thanks, ahazel and tincognito - you made it more understandable for me!

thank you for posting this I wanted to know this same thing.I found the replies here very helpful and I'm glad I know how to use it now,THANKS AGAIN!

I was trying to figure this out and this thread confirmed what I thought.

Thanks!

Can anyone give me some insight on this... Under my account, why does my weight log show my estimated date of achieving my goal weight at 6/17/09 whereas under tools,  the the calorie target estimates reaching my goal at 3/24/09?